Lutron Vs. Somfy - a Major Difference Explained

“What is the difference between Somfy and Lutron?”

This is a question that many motorized shading customers ask us every day. However, after many years in this industry, I have never been able to provide a simple, two or three sentence response to this query. The fact is that there are many differences, some glaring and some more nuanced. This series of articles will (finally) provide a complete answer to this common question. The first article will offer a simple overview of the primary difference between the two companies; subsequent articles will go into much greater depth and detail.

Lutron and Somfy are the two dominant players in the motorized window shade industry. Broadly speaking, each falls into the category of motorized shades and both sell their products through a vast network of dealers/installers. However, a defining, fundamental difference lies in the fact that Pennsylvania-based Lutron manufactures motorized shades (shades + motors) as well as controls and does not sell its motors separately. Somfy, a French company, manufactures only motors and controls and does not sell shades of any kind.

It cannot be overstated that in both cases, the end customer’s experience will depend on how well the product is installed and the service and professionalism of the motorized shade provider. Installation quality can vary more than any product differences and this will always be the defining success (or failure) of any job. Installers must be trained properly and held to high quality and service standards. Both Somfy and Lutron provide frequent training sessions for their products, but in the end, the dealer must make the commitment to ongoing education for all staff persons. There are important feature differences between the two systems, which subsequent articles will cover, but few customers will care about these issues if the installation was shoddy, shades did not fit or wiring mistakes were made.

As stated above, Lutron delivers a fully motorized shade with controls. In doing so, Lutron reaches down the value chain further than Somfy. Therefore, in terms of total system appearance and matching, Lutron’s shades, being all from a single source have little room for variance. All the components are designed to fit together. Along with product seamlessness, the single source model provides a high degree of manufacturer accountability. Not surprisingly, all of this comes with a price, and is one of the reasons that Lutron shading systems are more expensive than a Somfy solution.

Somfy systems involve purchasing different parts from different sources which allows any type or style of window shade from any fabricator to be motorized. This offers more choice but also opens system appearance and matching to more variance. To avoid an unfinished appearance, the dealer must ensure that the best quality, matching components (brackets, fascia, enclosures, screws etc) are used. Also, Somfy motors can be fitted into specialty shades like Hunter Douglas Silhouettes or Duettes which some clients prefer. Somfy offers more flexibility.

In summary, the primary difference is that Lutron provides a total solution with minimal system variance and Somfy offers a critical piece of the solution, with more flexibility but greater system variance. It is also true that a Lutron system costs more than a Somfy solution. However, pricing is also a function of product features and whether a project is new construction or retrofit, as well as other control systems (home automation) that may be factors. This series of articles will address all of these additional considerations.